A native of Columbia, SC, Angie Stone began singing gospel music at a young age at First Nazareth Baptist Church. Her father, a member of a local gospel quartet, would take his only child to see performances by gospel artists such as the Singing Angels and the Gospel Keynotes. While working dead-end jobs as a young woman, Stone began saving money to record her own demos at a local studio called PAW before she later joined Gwendolyn Chisolm and Cheryl Cook in the rap trio the Sequence, who recorded hits for Joe and Sylvia Robinson’s Sugarhill label. Soon after, Stone was working with futuristic rappers Mantronix and rocker Lenny Kravitz and also formed the neo-soul trio Vertical Hold. Her solo career began in 1996 with Black Diamond on Arista Records, and she has since released several albums all on major labels charting with singles Stone Love and Brotha. Her latest album was released on the newly re-launched Stax imprint and recorded in Marvin Gaye’s studio. What is less known about Angie is that she is a formidable songwriting talent – sharing writing credits on both of D’Angelo’s classic albums. She isn’t kidding!